Project Background

SA City Futures is an innovative project that combines the use of futures thinking, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and multiple forms of visualisation (of data, of built form, and of lifestyle) to reflect upon the future of urban neighbourhoods.

The City Futuring methodology will involve developing and triangulating across these multiple visualisations to produce a neighbourhood-level rendering of possible futures by the year 2040. These will be interpreted and expressed into creative public installations which are to be located in the respective neighbourhoods. The series of outputs are to be launched in inclusive community launch events, as well as an intended showcasing at the 25th International Union of Architects World Congress to be held in Durban in August 2014.

SA City Futures is an initiative of urban partners: South African Cities Network, the African Centre for Cities, the CSIR, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA). Supporting partners to date include: The Architects’ Collective, and the National Department of Human Settlements. Additional partners and sponsors are currently being approached.

The project is to be initiated in 8 South African neighbourhoods in the cities of Johannesburg & Port Elizabeth and conducted between 2013 and 2014.